


Festival Dates

by 2Kris_P



Category: Harvest Moon, Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness, Harvest Moon: Sunshine Islands
Genre: Best Friends, Dates, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Gen, Romance, Slice of Life, Starry Night Festival
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-11
Updated: 2018-08-11
Packaged: 2019-06-26 00:55:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15652479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/2Kris_P/pseuds/2Kris_P
Summary: She had been one of the first residents of Sunny Island that he had met. He had honestly expected the residents to be more laid-back, relaxed, like many other islands he had visited. He had never expected anyone else to be up at dawn like he.Yet, there she had been at his door, as perky and wide-awake as if she had downed half a dozen cups of coffee.





	Festival Dates

She had been one of the first residents of Sunny Island that he had met. He had honestly expected the residents to be more laid-back, relaxed, like many other islands he had visited. He had never expected anyone else to be up at dawn like he.

Yet, there she had been at his door, as perky and wide-awake as if she had downed half a dozen cups of coffee.

"Oh, hi!" She grinned and waved when he had opened his door on his way to his boat. "I was debating on whether or not to knock with it being so early and all, but apparently you're up. I'm Chelsea and I run the ranch. It's nice to meet you."

He returned the smile and the handshake. "I'm Denny, a fisherman. Thanks for the warm welcome."

Their friendship had gone up from there. It had been a bit rocky at the beginning, with her not having the taste for seafood and him underestimating the strength it took to run a ranch, but after a while Denny considered Chelsea as one of his best friends. They were there for each other whenever they were needed -- he cheered her on whenever she entered a competition, she let him bunk at her place on stormy days, and they were each other's "dates" during festivals.

Except for the time they weren't.

"Lanna's sweet on you."

Denny pretended that he hadn't been surprised enough by Chelsea's words to almost fall off the dock. "What?"

"You heard me," Chels said from the beach, her bare feet making splashes in the water's edge. With a smile, she said, "Lanna confessed that she was going to ask you to the Starry Night Festival."

Denny paused, his mind wrapping around the idea. "What should I say?"

Chelsea blinked and gave him a funny look. "That's up to you."

"Well..." He pulled his rod out of the water and made his way back to the beach. "I had assumed we would go together."

She grinned. "Ah, I get it. If you want my permission to go out with her, then you got it. It's totally up to you. No hard feelings."

Denny nodded, but he felt odd at the idea of _not_ going with Chelsea. "What about you? Who would you go with?"

She shrugged. "Oh, I dunno... I'll find someone, don't worry. If you're done fishing, I could use some help herding my cows back in the barn for the night."

He obliged, and that was the end of the conversation. Denny had put it out of his mind until a week later when Lanna asked him when they met up at the diner. Not seeing the harm, Denny agreed, glad his answer made Lanna happy.

Yet, when the evening of the festival had arrived, Denny found himself almost going to Chelsea's ranch instead of Lanna's house. He remembered in time and was only a few minutes late in picking up the former pop star.

"Don't you look nice," Lanna complimented with a blush. Denny smiled and held out an arm for her like he had always done for Chels.

"So do you," he said, returning the sentiment. "Shall we?"

The pair made their way down to the beach. They walked slowly, talking about little things. Denny glanced in the direction of the ranch, half expecting Chelsea to come dashing down the pathway and issue the challenge of a race to the beach like she had last year.

Chelsea was the first person he looked for when Lanna and he reached the beach. He frowned slightly, spotting Elliot with Julia, Natalie with Pierre, even Vaughn was there and _not_ being anti-social for once as he settled down on the sand with Sabrina. Almost every resident of the island was there except for the rancher.

"Look, there's a spot."

Denny put a smile back on his face as he allowed Lanna to tug him toward one of the beach's hills. They settled down together in a comfortable silence and Denny's eyes kept straying to the beach's entrance, waiting.

He jumped when a pair of soft lips brushed his cheek. Bewildered, Denny looked down at Lanna and was confused at her sad smile.

"I remember when I had so many fans, they would kill to be on a date with me," she said. Guilt hit Denny like a truck, but before he could apologize, Lanna sighed. "Go and find her. I'm sure she's missing you, too."

Denny hesitated at first, yet when Lanna repeated her command and gave him a light shove toward the beach's entrance, he grinned and hugged her. "Thanks, Lanna. You'll be alright?"

"Of course," she said, standing up with him. "I had gotten a couple of offers for tonight. Hurry and find Chelsea before the sun sets."

Denny thanked her again and watched from the beach's entrance as she found and joined Mark for the festival. Glad she wouldn't be alone, Denny jogged the way to the ranch.

The place was empty. Denny didn't even hear her dog barking. It only took a moment before the fisherman headed toward the mountain on the west island, knowing her favorite spot. He found the pathway easily enough, having accompanied Chels on her treks plenty of times, with the sky steadily growing darker. Denny hoped that he could find her before the first star became visible.

His prayer was answered, for all too soon did Denny reach the top of the mountain and a young dog excitedly barreled into his legs.

The fisherman laughed and picked up the pup. "Hi, Zing," he greeted before looking up and grinning at Chelsea's puzzled expression. "Where's your date?"

"You're holding him." Chelsea laughed when Zing stretched in Denny's arms so the pup could lick the fisherman's face. "Although I haven't gotten a kiss from him yet. What happened to Lanna?"

Denny put Zing back on the ground and got himself comfortable beside Chelsea. "She found me to be lousy company because I kept searching for the one girl I really wanted to be with." He smiled and teasingly added, "Did I just make you blush?"

"Must be a trick of the shadows," Chelsea said with a chuckle and leaned against Denny's shoulder. "I missed you."

He wrapped an arm around her, pulling the woman closer. As the first stars began to twinkle in the sky, he whispered, "I'm not going anywhere."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Kudos and constructive criticism are appreciated!


End file.
